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Ugh, I SO want to learn Spanish fluently. I've tried dvds and cd programs. They don't work well for me. I need to meet some Hispanic women and hang out with them and only speak Spanish. I don't know how to do this without seeming like a weirdo. I should check into Spanish conversation groups/clubs. Maybe you can check into that in Honolulu. I heard from my best friend who lives there that there are Chinese and Japanese language groups. ??? Something to check into.
Vietnamese, Rosetta stone
As far as bang for the buck I think Rosetta Stone is great.
I took a conversational Spanish class and I think dollar for dollar you get a lot more with Rosetta Stone.
That being said if you are really serious about learning a language you may have to spend some money. Rosetta Stone in combination with formal classes and whatever else you can get your hands on is probably best.
I haven't been able to find a Vietnamese class but if I do I'll be taking it.
Ugh, I SO want to learn Spanish fluently. I've tried dvds and cd programs. They don't work well for me. I need to meet some Hispanic women and hang out with them and only speak Spanish. I don't know how to do this without seeming like a weirdo. I should check into Spanish conversation groups/clubs. Maybe you can check into that in Honolulu. I heard from my best friend who lives there that there are Chinese and Japanese language groups. ??? Something to check into.
Maybe you could drive down to Mexico for your next vacation. I'm thinking about it and I'm not even that interested in Mexico, it's just so close though.
Russian, started at work about 15 years ago, with a formal course and about 12 years ago with a reading seminar. The formal course ended about 1999, the reading seminar is still going on.
Once you get to the point you can read a language, reading the classic literature, ideally aloud to a native speaking tutor, works pretty well.
About the only worthwhile tip I can offer is it's better to do 30 minutes or an hour every day than to do bigger chunks less often.
At least for me, it took me about 3 years of study before I had any really useful "in-country" type skills. Once you get to the point where you can use phrases like "What do you call this (thing) in Russian" "Can you speak a little slower please" etc. in the native language, you can get the native speakers to help you, that's a big turning point.
Spanish is a piece of cake for Americans, there are native speakers all over, TV channels, you can pick up Spanish-language magazines in small-town grocery stores. This is true of Russian if you are in Brighton Beach, and to some extent in certain neighborhoods in Seattle for example, but less common.
Go for it, it's hard to do, but most worthwhile things are. Then you can distinguish yourself from the typical Uglo-American tourist.
FWIW when I have gone through Passport Control and Customs in Russia or Ukraine, once I started doing it speaking only Russian, it seemed like I got VIP treatment.
Russian, started at work about 15 years ago, with a formal course and about 12 years ago with a reading seminar. The formal course ended about 1999, the reading seminar is still going on.
Once you get to the point you can read a language, reading the classic literature, ideally aloud to a native speaking tutor, works pretty well.
About the only worthwhile tip I can offer is it's better to do 30 minutes or an hour every day than to do bigger chunks less often.
At least for me, it took me about 3 years of study before I had any really useful "in-country" type skills. Once you get to the point where you can use phrases like "What do you call this (thing) in Russian" "Can you speak a little slower please" etc. in the native language, you can get the native speakers to help you, that's a big turning point.
Spanish is a piece of cake for Americans, there are native speakers all over, TV channels, you can pick up Spanish-language magazines in small-town grocery stores. This is true of Russian if you are in Brighton Beach, and to some extent in certain neighborhoods in Seattle for example, but less common.
Go for it, it's hard to do, but most worthwhile things are. Then you can distinguish yourself from the typical Uglo-American tourist.
FWIW when I have gone through Passport Control and Customs in Russia or Ukraine, once I started doing it speaking only Russian, it seemed like I got VIP treatment.
I'm still in the early stages, about 2 years since I learned yes and no. If I said I don't know any Vietnamese I would be lying and that by itself is pretty awesome to me.
There is a Vietnamese section at the local library and it would be great to actually read a book in Vietnamese.
I usually put in about 30 minutes a day with Rosetta Stone, really about all I can manage without getting bored. I saw on a commercial the newest version gives you access to turors online, I have an older version. It comes in different levels though so when I move to the next one I will get the newer version.
Technology has made the world a lot smaller, even if you can't find local speakers you can usually find a forum or some sort of presence online for about any language you want to learn.
To me it's kind of like learning math, it doesn't seem like I am learning anything sometimes but when I stop and think that I used to know zero Vietnamese I realize I have come a long way.
You have to want it, those who want it will figure out a way. Those that don't...
Same as M3 Mitch. I started learning Russian at 10 and studied it all the way up to when I studied Russian Literature at St. Petersburg State University. I got a lot of VIP treatment from Russians in general, for being an American who knew Russian, lol. I'm completely out of practice now though since I haven't really spoken or heard it since going deaf and my braille display doesn't do cyrillic. I totally agree with everything M3 Mitch said, though.
I'm really interested in Polish cause it's very similar to Russian and uses the Latin alphabet. I also love the sound of Polish. Even though I can't hear it anymore I can feel my favorite sounds and love just pronouncing Polish words and singing in Polish.
I'm pretty much fluent in American Sign Language but I'm always looking to improve it too. I haven't really been working on my other languages, though, and don't seem to have much motivation to at the moment.
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